In his third and final Western Fritz Lang unsaddles the genre to create a tempestuous cult favorite. Critics have likened the film and its theme of a man twisted by vengeance to a Lang film of a wholly different genre: film noir’s the Big Heat.

Vern Haskell (Arthur Kennedy) is pushed to revenge when his fiancée is killed during a general store robbery. Intent on punishing those responsible, Vern manages to find one of the thieves, who is mortally wounded. In his dying words, the man gives Vern a clue to finding the others. Continuing his quest, Vern travels to the hideout — a ranch operated by Altar Keane (Marlene Dietrich), a former saloon singer. By fooling an outlaw (Mel Ferrer), Vern makes his way into their inner circle.

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Video Quality

Warner Archive presents Rancho Notorious with a truly stunning new 1080p master transfer sourced from a 4K scan of each of the three Technicolor Negatives, each cleaned separately and recombined with precision alignment. Warner Archive typically shines especially bright with their Technicolor transfers, but this one ranks as one of the best yet especially compared to the standard definition derived from the soft Interpositive over 25 years ago. This film has come a very long way.

The level of detail and clarity is jaw-dropping with the perfect amount of natural film grain intact. The film appears to be virtually entirely free of dirt and damage, giving this a timeless feeling that is a wonder to experience. The film features some vibrant colors within the costumes and set design that pop off the screen with a wondrous intensity. The black levels are also very deep with a firm stability throughout. There does not appear to be any unsightly digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding or any other such nuisances. This presentation is a 5-star effort from Warner Archive on all fronts.

Audio Quality

Warner Archive has provided a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio presentation that has been restored from the original optical track negative. The rousing score feels almost like another character in the film and it comes through with remarkable fidelity. Dialogue is the prevailing force of this film, and it comes through clearly for the most part with only fleeting instances where the source seems a bit fuzzier. The track balances vocals with the environmental sounds with magnificent clarity. Even in the most active moments, there are no moments where the track ever appears weak in its stability. Warner Archive has provided a pleasing audio presentation that does not exhibit any overwhelming instances of age-related wear-and-tear. The disc also comes with optional English (SDH) subtitles.

Special Features

There are no special features provided on this disc.

Final Thoughts

Rancho Notorious is an engaging take on the traditional western as you get the unique perspective of Fritz Lang driving the story. This tale of revenge is moody and vicious with strong performances to make all of the perspectives linger in your mind. There are some elements that could have come together a bit more seamlessly to provide a more enjoyable time, but as it stands there is a lot going on that makes the movie special. Those who get a bit burned out on the black-and-white morality of traditional westerns will appreciate the underlying darkness of this one. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray featuring a tremendous A/V presentation but nothing in the way of special features. If you are a fan of any of the talent involved, you will have a good time with this release. Recommended

Rancho Notorious can be purchased directly through the Warner Archive Amazon Store, MovieZyng or various other online retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.